Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: Not Indicated
| Rating: 0

Pros:

First and fifth ingredients are named meat products, uses predominantly good quality grains, minimal fillers.

Cons:

Minimum acceptable meat content, use of controversial filler.

The first ingredient in the food is a named meat product, as is the fifth. Both are in meal form. Fish meal is the 5th ingredient and another meat product in the food. We note that the manufacturer does not claim to use ethoxyquin-free sources (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish destined for meal, and is believed to be carcinogenic).

The main grains in the food are millet and rice, which are all decent quality whole grains.

It is a concern to see chicken fat as the third ingredient. Research at Purdue University has identified a fat in the top four ingredients of a dry dog food as a factor that increases the risk of bloat in large breed dogs. Smaller breeds are untested.

Alfalfa meal and whole ground flaxseed are good quality ingredients with good antioxidant properties. But Beet pulp is filler and a controversial ingredient – it is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required.

Overall this looks to be a reasonably good food. It has acceptable meat content and predominantly the ingredients used are good ones. The use of low quality fillers such as beet pulp prevent the food obtaining a higher grading.